“It's still our child”: A qualitative interview study with parent carers in forensic mental health

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of parents in forensic mental health
services with regard to their cooperation with healthcare professionals and their role as parent carers. 15 participants were interviewed using qualitative, in-depth interviews. The identified themes were ‘Medical dominance’, ‘Interactions with healthcare professionals’, and ‘Advocating for their daughter/son’. The themes were
associated with the overall theme ‘perceived impact on the parents’ everyday lives’. The results suggest that
parent carers perceive a malalignment between the institutional medicalised treatment focus and the need for
an integrated holistic approach, which would include them as partners.